Dream of the World Around Me
by The SAONotTheAnimeOrManga Guy
Summary: With the world I lived in hateful to me, I quickly shifted my "reality" to the virtual world. Now that SAO has come out, it has been my top desire. But with the truth revealed to me about the game's true nature, will I live to get out of the game back into the world I despise so much? Pairings Unknown. No Kirito/Asuna/Lisbeth/Silica/etc. Still other mains though (Heathcliff, etc).
1. Prologue

AN: This will be the prologue to introduce Satoni and his family. Why? I'm always pissed when some fanfiction writers put no backstory...note: this will only be for Satoni, other characters will be slowly introduced in the actual fanfiction.

Note 2: This does not occur in the same universe as Kirito. No Kirito, no Asuna, No Klein, etc but still the other main characters and guilds such as Heathcliff and the DDA and the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

Description of Main Character:

Appearance: Long luscious brown hair. No glasses, 20/20 vision. He is of moderate stature but isn't exactly athletic. With an round/angular face and his drooping hair down the front of his face, he is looked up at by many girls for his handsomeness like an anime protagonist.

History: Satoni has been a video game addict his whole life, he's been playing video games since the day he was born. For years, his parents have tried to give him other activities to do, but he never actually caught on. Though his grades and behavior are above-average, his parents don't appreciate him being on the computer all the time.

IGN: Tosani(Insert numbers here)

Family:

Higakuno Shitami (Mother):

Age: 43

Higakuno Kazuno (Father):

Age: 41

Higakuno Tanami (Younger Sister):

Age: 12

Higakuno Kuzami (Older Sister):

Age: 17

o-o Prologue: Before the Game Started (About three days before the SAO incident)o-o

Prologue will be quite a few chapters before the incident

*scratch*

*splinter*

Grinding his pencil at a particularly annoying math problem, Satoni stared at the calculus integral in front of him. Though he was smart all around most of the time, this test was an exception. The test was going over things about like intro to calculus or something, but the whole week his mind seemed to be wandering to something else, though he couldn't find out what in particular was going on in his mind.

Skipping that question and going to the next one, Satoni was faced with a similar predicament. Looking forwards on the test, he found that the next five questions on the test were on integrals and derivatives, and he decided in a split second of reasoning to skip all those questions and go onto the easier ones.

Pushing his test paper down and flipping the page, he was faced with a bunch of easier problems. In tests, Satoni somehow always thought of test problems like mobs, and imagined himself attacking the problem mob with a few sword or dagger strikes as he advanced towards the answer of the problem. Sometimes, he would get stuck and the problem mob would suddenly change tactics, but most of the time he made it through, except for now.

Ditching the high-level integral mobs, Satoni moved onto the slightly lower level derivative mobs. Though they were still strong, Satoni had practiced fighting them for hours on end at home. Somehow, he had forgotten to study integrals, though, when he was at home. His mind was just not up to standard this week. Doing the rest of the test in a flurry trying to get himself more time for the other problems, he stared at the integrals for another few minutes before the period bell rang. Sighing and turning in his 70-question test with five questions blank, Satoni trudged towards the door and prepared to go to lunch.

Before he got to the door, though, he was interrupted by his friend Hazumeti. With her standing almost above him with her flowing black-dyed-red hair in a ponytail, she smiled at Satoni and blocked his way. Usually, this meant that she wanted something, so he stood there patiently and tapped his foot to get her to talk. After a few daunting seconds of confrontation, she finally spoke up and asked the second-to-dreaded question, which Satoni was fully prepared for. It happened every test.

"So, Satoni, do you have a girl-"

"No," I said, before she could even complete the sentence. I just wanted to be rid of her as quickly as possible. It's not that I don't...err...like her, I just tend to…"avoid" her at times such as these. With the question finished, she hesitated before asking the next question.

"So how did you do on the test?"

With a voice that was smooth and medium-pitched, she asked me the question that she normally never asks me. Does she have mind reading powers or something? How does she know I did bad on the test-

"Ha, I knew it!" she exclaimed, much to the surprise of everyone around her. Everyone jumping at her loud voice, she quickly covered her mouth and made the face of apology, which everyone seemed to accept. Leaning in closer to me so that I could see every pore on her face, she breathed on me and told me, "I told you so from your reaction."

Trying not to blush at the close encounter, I made my way around her, clutching my half-empty school bag, and took the long way towards the stairs to the rooftop. Trying to avoid any potential people that I knew because Hazutemi would have probably broadcasted my failure to the school, I turned this way and that, using the "virtual" map in my brain to guide me before finally getting to the alternate stairwell to the rooftop, which was thankfully, empty.

Taking the stairs up, I enjoyed the rush of the wind against my face and threw open the door even though there was enough breeze from the open window.

Heh. Of course there would be no one here.

Sitting down at a random metal table overlooking the city on the rooftop of the school, I took out my favorite American sandwich along with a Pocari Sweat and started munching on it with a look of glee on my face at the delicious taste. To tell you the truth, this would have also gone well also with a Snickers bar (an American chocolate candy with peanut butter) but alas, I was feeling particularly ravenous after the ten o'clock mark and I decided to eat it even though I vowed to keep it until lunch. How stupid of me.

First taking a sip of the refreshing Pocari Sweat that was sitting on the table, I tried to enjoy the view from the rooftop of the school as much as I could. Though there were fences around the rooftop for obvious reasons, seeing as how the school building was three or four stories tall, I could still enjoy the view of being able to see over everyone's houses in the neighborhood if I looked hard enough.

After enjoying the view for a little while, I took another bite of my great sandwich. Savoring its rich and creamy taste again, I took a few more bites of the gourmet-level sandwich before taking another sip of my drink, which was already almost empty due to the saltiness of the sandwich.

Note to self: Bring more drinks next time.

It would be a shame if I was forced to buy from the school vending machine. Those things are seriously overpriced.

Finally being able to be alone for one period since the school started minus the horrible-going test, I could finally try and enjoy the moment of silence before people came to me for help, finding out where I ate for lunch. I tried to enjoy the scenery and the great weather in front of me and started thinking about random thoughts...

…

It really was a nice day, wasn't it? The sky is all clear, the temperature of the air is not too warm nor too cold; there's just enough wind to give a slight breeze but not enough to fly your homework away into the wind, never to be seen again. There are no mosquitos or anything in the air, it truly was the most perfect day ever.

With that thought I sighed in pleasure and went back to surveying the bikes rolling on the street and the mothers working at home preparing food and tending to their garden. It was a cliched day, indeed. Usually, in anime or manga, something life-changing usually happened at this time...

...

"Toni-kun~!"

I exhaled my lingering thoughts about my future through the large opening in my angular face for the third time that day as I put down his sandwich on the table and face planted into the hard metal surface, mentally smiling as I heard the satisfying *clink* of a spoon falling onto the floor from the previous day even though my face said otherwise.

Well. There goes my peaceful lunch period

As usual like always, "she" only comes when my friends aren't here and are busy for the whole period of lunch on projects or community service. Is there a pattern or a conspiracy theory that connects to this or is it just plain coincidence? I quickly dismissed the second choice and reminded myself that whatever "she" does is not a coincidence. It happened too often and happened too on queue with the events of the day to be a coincidence, however random they might seem to be.

Ever since he had entered high school last year, preparing to conquer the unknown, he had been pestered by countless girls and even some of the guys from his grade to teach them academics and sometimes help them on their projects "and stuff". Sometimes it was obvious that they were slacking off a little a lot on their studies. He could plainly see in their eyes and actions that they were too lazy to do their own schoolwork and instead wanted others to do it for them. He sort of despised doing things for them, though; every time it ended up being him doing the project and the other person doing who-knows-what outside of school, only stopping every once in a while to say, "Thanks Satoni!" to which he felt no emotion at. He was okay with helping his fellow schoolmates out once in a while though; he couldn't just watch his fellow classmates fall into a deep hole, and to him it was fine for him to help others with their assignments as long as it wasn't something too outrageous. After all, it did come with little popularity in the school, though not really in the right place of thought in people's minds...

'But seriously guys. This is far too much for me to do at one. Can't I get any alone time without anyone asking me weird questions that I know they don't wanna search up?' he thought, eyes rolling due to the truthfulness of his question.

Though he knew that no one was near him, he could just imagine people walking away from him if they were actually there due to the venomous aura surrounding him and him mashing his head against the table. He was sure that it would ruin his mind and make him a vegetable but he didn't care.

For the second time that day, the girl that was known as Tazumi was running towards him with a pouting/smirking look on her face and open arms, ready to catch him and swing him around into a desk to do her work for her while she stood by with a whip ready to hit him if he slacked off.

Tazumi was someone that Satoni had known since early in middle school. Even in high school, she still came to him for help on her subjects even though she was far from being stupid. With long luscious dual ivory pigtails and big, open eyes, as well as her soft looking face, she was the envy of the school for her good looks.

Not being born into a particularly poor family, she had an easy lifestyle not having to worry about money. Though her parents were often away on foreign business trips, Tazumi kept herself occupied by flirting with boys and hanging out with her *supposed* friends. She really did have an easy life ahead of her, with her college fund guaranteed and her finance secure.

She was an only child, which may have made some people cry or complain to their parents, but Tazumi on the other hand thought of it as better. She had proclaimed early throughout her knowing of him that she liked being an only child, it gave her the most attention from her parents.

Figures. Of course someone from a forever travelling family would say that. At that time, he had felt slightly sorry for her, but then hardened his mind when the next incident happened with her giving him the dreaded nickname.

Tazumi had given him that specific nickname halfway through first period one day in his seventh or sixth grade and had announced it to the whole class during silent reading time like she was proposing to him. Flaunting the nickname like it was a honorific, she told literally everyone in the school and made it seem amusing and funny for everyone, which it was, except for Satoni. Satoni was the laughingstock of the class for many days after that for being the "princess's servant" and he had never really forgiven her for that incident. The nickname had followed him to this day and it seemed that it was being said somewhere around him no matter where he went..

Satoni knew not to anger her though through his actions or thoughts, he had seen personally up close and with his own eyes that she could be extremely menacing when she wanted to, especially towards people flirting towards her in "a(n) (fill in perveted word) manner". One time, three guys had tried to corner her in an alley as Satoni was watching from across the street. Satoni had frantically tried to cross the street to get to her, but when he got there, he only saw three beaten up guys and a very mad Tazumi.

From then on he had never complained to her about anything.

He had noticed recently though that she had been asking for favors more than usual. Was something going on in her family or was she just getting lazier? He would never know.

Satoni grumbled under his breath, both about Tazumi coming and her slow pace, spitting quite a few swear words in front of him as the girl drew ever so much closer to him in a light jog, shoulders swinging side to side in a manner that made her hair swing all over the place. He could tell from the first time she did it that she had perfected this technique after years of *cough*secretly practicing to con others into helping her.

'But seriously though, why didn't people ever go to his cute sister for school help instead of him? She was so much smarter than him and was far more capable at everything, so why do they even bother trying to ask me?' he thought with a frown.

Perhaps it was just because he was easier to talk to compared to her; her young age and slight immatureness made her hard to approach most times.

Stuffing that thought into the "Archive" section of his mind to read later in his spare time, he turned around to look for the girl chasing him only to be filled with a chest-full of face in his chest. Being pushed back a few inches from that sudden impact of the tiny, light girl, he looked down at the top of her hair (which happened to also be ivory-colored, gee, who knew?) and waited for her to extract herself from him. Though she was more than one year older than him, she was much shorter than the average height of the people in her grade, so as usual she always had to look up at people to talk to them. To some, this may have been extremely embarrassing, but to her apparently, it helped her get more fake friends and favors out of people.

Extracting her face after a few seconds of smothering in his thick sweater and taking a comically large breath of air as if she was being suffocated by him, she looked up to face Satoni with a cute smirk and opened her mouth as if to ask a question, which was literally the only thing he has ever heard her say to him.

Satoni was prepared to tune her out and go back to eating his delicious American-style ham and cheese sandwich, determination evident in his stone cold face that he would not help her even if she begged him. There was no way anyone would go in between him and his sandwich. and she had BETTER not go after that thin-

"Satoni…" she abruptly started, seeming like she was about to confess her love to him, but at the same time seeming not about to confess at the same time. Wait, what?

'Ugh,' he thought. 'Confessions always take forever...and it's so confusing...'

Quickly becoming impatient and about to interrupt her to leave and eat his lunch somewhere else IN PEACE, she finally spoke up with a determined, forceful voice, almost making Satoni step back due to the assertiveness of her voice, and said something completely unexpected.

"Have you ever heard of Sword Art Online?"

AN: And this is finally done! Yeah! Thanks to all who read this and please review if you like it or even if you don't!


	2. Chapter 1: The Day it All Started

Author's Note: First chapter of this. Not prologue the previous chapter was prologue. I really hope that I don't dump this. I really like this story and I hope this is successful.

P.S. Back to first person in here. Third person was only for the prologue/introduction for the story/one extra main character.

o-o Chapter 1 o-o

"What?" I asked loudly, aiming particularly at the top of her glossy hair-filled head.

Sword...Art...Online? Is that some sort of new game that has come out just recently? I had never heard of it before...and why is she suddenly so interested in it? Why is it so great that she was talking to me about it now? She never showed any interest to video games before…

Pfft. Liez.

Wait...does she mean THAT "Sword Art Online"? Does she seriously know about that game or is she just fluking me into helping her more? Yeah, she's probably just conning me into doing something. She probably doesn't even know what it is.

Snapping my head up after it fell due to my tedious mind-consuming daydreaming, I squatted down, looked into her pitch dark pupils and tried to see if she was telling the truth about actually knowing the game. Coughing slightly at my inability to perform the duty I gave myself to see if she was lying, I pretended not to know what the game was and tried to play it out peacefully with a good-ol bluff.

"What...?" I said to her, trying to carry out the bluff.

I winced with the look she gave back at me, afraid that she would beat me up just like she did the three guys back then. Did she really know about my bluff and was trying to call me off on it? I really don't wanna die today, thank you very much.

"God dammit Satoni-" she snapped at me. Huh. I'm really doomed now-

Wait. Did she really not believe me? Is she falling for my bluff? Damn. Well I guess now I can…

I quickly slapped myself on the face with the palm of my right hand to get myself to stop thinking about lewd thoughts and turned back to her, fake smile still beaming on my face as I faced her head-on with newfound confidence.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a tone that obviously showed sarcasm.

I wonder what she will ask for now that she knows about Sword Art Online...does she want me to buy a copy for her? Nah...ohhh maybe she wants me to play the game with her! Yeah, that would be great. Then I can do this and that and this…

Interrupting my daydreaming, she huffed like a little girl (which she practically was) at my ignoring of her and tried to drag my arm along with her to take me to whatever destination she wanted to go to.

Surprising me with her strength, she dragged me several meters before I suddenly got ahold of myself and put all my weight on the side that wasn't being dragged. Though she was far stronger than me, when I shifted my weight, she was pulled back to me and settled to a stop right next to me. I only thought one thing,

Wtf? How is she so strong? She's just a little girl...

A little girl having so much strength, I reminded myself once again to not get in her way when she was in a bad mood. Even now in high school with myself being over one head taller than her, I was still afraid to get beat up by her and die a painful, embarrassing death. It's sad, I know.

"What the hell!?" I soft-screamed at her. She's not allowed to just drag me around, you know? It's not like she's my mother or anything...

Huffing a second time at my irritation and ignorance and closing her eyes deep in thought, she turned away from me and then suddenly relaxed her shoulders, as if thinking deeply of how to explain things to me. After a long while of thinking, shoe tapping, and finger flexing to herself, she turned back to me, this time seeming more determined to get me to listen to whatever crazy plan she brewed up.

'Great', I thought. 'I seriously hope this doesn't go along like last time with her stuttering and everything-'

After waiting and pacing around her still figure with her eyes scrunched closed in concentration many times, she finally opened her eyes and suddenly started talking like she was a recording that was just being activated.

This time she seemed to have gotten ahold of herself . She spoke up in an informative voice, a voice that I had barely heard unless she was explaining a project at the front of the class which she rarely did, since she usually had other people do it for her. Taking a step back at the loud, authoritative voice, she started reciting her speech to me which took her at least five minutes to prepare as she was "deep in thought."

"Ahem," she started loudly, interrupting my daydream cycle of walking around her endlessly while waiting for her to talk.

Preparing to tune her out halfway lest I die of the barrage of information that usually comes with this voice, I tried to be ready to soak up every some words she said. Was she finally interested in MMO's? Was she finally gonna live up to my standard of her being a video game nerd? Shuddering in anticipation of her second "confession", I started to listen to her recitation which had already gone past its introduction. Wait...why am I shuddering? It's not like I love her or anything, right?

"Sword Art Online is an Virtual Reality MMO that is going to be released this November. Only 10,000 copies of the game will be for sale, so it is important to get there early to secure a copy before they all run out."

Putting on fake glasses and pointing to an imaginary board like she is used to in front of the class, she started reciting the speech she had made, pointing to random places in the air like there were drawings and graphs actually in front of her.

Already, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed. Even though I had already read up fully about the game and the device ahead of time, the way she gave information to people was still overwhelming in some sense.

Slightly dozing off back into a daydream about swords and towers, I leaned slightly on my right foot for a while, before waking up to my internal clock that said that I had to go soon.

"Blah blah it uses the «Nervegear» to function by using special wavelengths to simulate a reality. It also intercepts all signals the brain gives out and converts it into actions inside the game. Sword Art Online is rumored to be the first real immersion virtual reality game of the year. It supposedly only uses swords in the game and has no magic whatsoever. The game takes place in Aincrad and it has one hundred floors to conquer…"

After that I lowered the volume of my ears and tuned her out for who knows how long to concentrate on...what?, since I didn't want to look at my watch like an idiot and give myself away that I actually knew about the game. Apparently she had actually believed my bluff and was now trying to explain the game to him. But seriously, did she think I was THAT much of a noob at video games that I don't even know the summary of new hot games? Irritated at the prolonged conversation and seeing that it was almost time for the next period to start with a quick glance at my watch when it looked like she wasn't watching, I quickly interrupted her to get her to state her point.

Apparently this is where everything went wrong.

"JUST GET TO THE POINT," I screamed at her, rage filling my eyes as she kept talking on hours on end about...oops.

Right after those words came screeching out of my mouth like a runaway train towards her ears, I covered my mouth, purely afraid of the punishment that was going to follow, just imagining myself screaming as she punched and kicked me with fire in her eyes...

Well. I'm totally doomed now. I could imagine my hitpoints decreasing little by little by her "Death-glare poison, 1% of HP a second"

Preparing to run away yet again from this doomed conversation, I hurriedly packed my stuff into my backpack and was about to set off with an excuse of, "Oh, look, I'm late for class! Gotta go!" when she spoke up. Turning back to her, I prepared myself for the barrage of insults that were going to follow my previous yelling at her to "hurry up and get to the point".

Squeezing my eyes shut trying to tune out the future barrage of yelling and screaming and beating me up, I waited for who knows how long for the screams to start. When I heard nothing for a while, though, I peeked open one eye. Seeing her just staring at me like I was an idiot while I was curled up on the ground covering my ears, I felt myself quickly turn red in the cheeks and stood up, turning back to her.

"Err…" she started, hesitant after my previous display of weirdness. Did she always do that on purpose, starting a sentence with "Err"? Holding in my sigh this time so I wouldn't get executed by her, I prepared to listen to her again. The last part of the conversation is always the most important, right? This time I payed *extra* attention to her.

"I need someone to drive me to get the game." she told me. Unsurprised at her not being able to drive for her only being one year older than me, I sighed.

"I will buy the game for you. I'll even pay for it!" The concept of free money in that sentence perked my ears up and prompted me to accept the proposal before I even thought about it, promising her that I would get a car and pick her up at school right after school ended.

She wants the game? She had never showed interest in video games before. Usually, it was conning people for homework and stuff...wait. Did she have some secret superpower dual identity thing that she has that she secretly is really good or really loves video games or something? Wait, did I just accept her proposal?

Smiling meekly at my words and uttering a quick, "Thanks Toni-kun!", she picked up her bags and left before I could confront her further, letting me take a short break before lunch period ended and I was forced to go back to class for the rest of the day. Quickly stuffing the rest of the *slightly soggy* delicious ham sandwich in my mouth and swallowing it with a gulp of Pocari Sweat to wash the remains of the food down, I packed up the rest of my stuff, picked up my backpack, and quickly fled the scene, down the stairs and into the hallway below so I wouldn't be late to class.

Hurrying along the floor and shuffling my feet, I tried to get back to the classroom before the bell rang. It would be a shame if my life was like a typical anime protagonist and I was-

Just then the stupid bell rang and I jumped at the sudden ringing sound.

God damn. I'm late now and now I have to make an excuse. Gee, my life is really playing out like an anime character, isn't it?

This time though, instead of frowning at my tardiness, I just smirked. Tazumi's parallel dilemma for also being late to her class since she left the rooftop at almost the same time as me would be amusing to hear once school ended and the rumors started floating around like wisps of air from person to person.

'Well, this will certainly be entertaining,' I thought.

o-o The same day, after school o-o

After minutes of pleading about "You should find something else to occupy your time instead of video games" over the phone with video chat, they reluctantly let me borrow my mother's car for the day only when I said that I was driving Tazumi to the video game store, which they only let me accept with the promise, "Get back before ten" to which I stayed silent to, not wanting to jinx the opportunity by lying to my parents.

I'm technically not lying if I don't talk, right?

Hurriedly getting into the front seat of the small car that was in the driveway and turning on the engine as soon as dropped my schoolwork into the backseat, I sped off back towards school at the highest speed I could go to without getting a traffic ticket. The worst thing that could happen now was me getting a ticket and being late to pick up Tazumi. THEN I would be killed by her and I would never hear the end of me "throwing away responsibility".

Tapping the wheel impatiently at a particularly irritating red light, I watched the kids around me walk back home as the middle school let out. Finally, after a long time of irritation and head smashing and more tapping of the wheel, the light finally turned green, earning me a satisfying *screech* as the tiny car suddenly accelerated towards the four-story building in the distance with the fence on the rooftop and the track surrounding the school.

A few minutes later I arrived at the front gate of the school, where the clubs were sadly letting out after an hour or so of working. Parking the car at a curb, I scanned my surroundings for a particularly cute girl with long dual pigtails. Spotting her in the distance, I honked the horn of the car which made a tiny unsubstantial *beep* and got her to look at the car. Sadly, though, that also got everyone else around me to look at the car and Tazumi walking towards me.

Well, this is gonna leave a mark in my high school life. But it'll be worth it in the end once I get the game and the headset. I would finally be able to leave this world for another one.

After more minutes of waiting, Tazumi finally got to the car and sat in the front seat, for there were only two seats in the car. With both of us shifting uncomfortably in the car being in such close proximity to the other person, I put the car into gear and went towards the video game store.

Though I had told my parents that I needed the car to pick them up, I didn't tell them that I was going to wait in line for five hours to get the game, though I did tell them I was going to get "A" game. I hadn't expected the line to be so long.

At first when I approached it I could see people parking on the curb, which usually didn't happen. I shrugged my shoulders and went further, thinking that it was just a concert or party or something. Seeing the gigantic line in the distance, though, I hurried up. Taking the risk to park the car in a red zone (can't park here), I went out of the car, grabbed Tazumi's hand (which she seemed okay with weirdly), and ran towards the back of the line, which seemed to be like five blocks back. Finally settling into the line which was way way back, I took out the chair that I had brought and set it up.

I was about to sit in it when I looked at Tazumi and saw that she was visibly tired. I remembered seeing her stand for the whole time when I left and when I picked her up, so like the man I was, I let her sit, which seemed to make her much happier.

Leaning my head right and seeing that the line was moving slowly, I prepared to wait for a long time and took out my phone which I had conveniently put in my pocket and started playing games that I had downloaded previously.

…

Many hours later:

We were about halfway there. I could see the store barely in my sights and I could also see that Tazumi was getting bored. And hungry. Of course. Who wouldn't be after standing/sitting in a line for like three hours?

I gave her my phone to play the games I downloaded while I watched her from behind.

…

After many multiplayer games of Go! and much playing American chess, my score had turned out to be...0-21. She was actually so much better at games than me. I never knew. This just confirmed my theory at her living a double life and being so much-

"Hey. Your move."

I turned back to the phone she was holding and stared at my hopelessness in the current game of chess we were playing. She currently still had all of her major pieces intact and most of her pawns while I...I only had a knight and a bishop left as well as my king.

Damn she was good at anything I threw at her..

…

After that I tried to introduce her to some other multiplayer games, hoping that I would eventually beat her in something. First, we played American checkers!...which I lost horribly as usual. Then, we played poker with the deck of cards I brought and some chips from the Lay's that I had. She ended up having every single chip and I ended up being broke. She really was good at games, whether they be card games or real games. Hell, she even ended up looking through the card trick that I tried to pull on her. She really was a genius.

But why was she so LAZY at school!? God dammit, seriously, why is she active at everything EXCEPT for school?

Soon after that last card trick we arrived at the store. Looking at the digital number, my eyes drooped when it said that there was only one game and «Nervegear» left. Preparing to give the set to Tazumi who tried to deny it by saying, "No, you drove me here," and other excuses, I eventually forced her to take it, which made me quite happy and sad at the same time. Paying for the set with my own money and preparing to leave the store with a few other games, I held Tazumi's hand and looked into her eyes, trying to take away her guilt.

Taking one last sigh before leaving the store that was now empty, I took one step outside the store, prepared to throw my dream away. Before I could go any further though, a gruff voice of someone in the store staff interrupted me. Walking back to the man and wondering what he wanted, told me to wait as he went to the back. Tapping my foot and folding my hands wondering what he was doing while I waited, he finally came out of the back beaming with a box in one hand and a case in the other.

Puzzled at the things he was holding in his big hands, I just stood there. After finally finding out what it was, though, I froze and just stared at the quizzical items for a few moments. With the manager as I had learned from his nametag smiling widely at me and myself staring at the set like I was lagging inside a game, I opened and closed my mouth many times before finally saying, "What?" like the stupid person I was. Speaking up briskly about how the store had one last set for the couple that deserved it most, he smirked and thrust the set in my hands, parting with me with one brief phrase,

"I love a man that cares about his woman."

About to sputter saying that she wasn't my girlfriend or wife and blushing furiously at the accusation the stranger gave me, I turned back to the direction of the door and briskly walked out, into the hands of Tazumi who was waiting outside for me. She was now on the verge of crying due to me giving her the set and was about to give it back to me with the excuse of, "My parents won't allow it.". I just smiled at her friendliness and held her tightly against me, feeling that we could stay like this forever. Still holding her hand, we walked back to the car at a leisurely pace that was many, many blocks away with much idle chatting and drove back to her house with some quick directions from my phone.

By almost eleven o'clock that night and much rerouting from the dumb map app, we arrived at her house and prepared to say our goodbyes to each other for the night.

She conveniently gave me her phone number to contact her when she got out of the car with a quick, "You'll need this" with another smile before hugging me tightly and setting off towards her front door, dual pigtails still slowly swinging in the wind as she ascended the brick stairs towards her house and through the door.

Looking back once more at the peaceful setting, I turned the car back on and whizzed back down the street towards my house. After another few minutes, I arrived back at my home sweet home. I felt ready to face the consequences that my parents would give for my actions after the great night I had, whatever they may be.

Taking one last smirk at my mom's car and thinking about the irony of what happened today, I unlocked the front door to my house and stepped into the bright hallway.


	3. Chapter 2: Normal Day Galore

_AN: This is going well so far! I feel great that this is going out so smoothly! I decided to take out the character thing from the prologue though, only adding the basics._

Slipping off my shoes at the doorway when I stepped inside the house, I prepared myself for the barrage of scolding and screaming that will assault my ears. When I heard nothing, though, I quietly maneuvered myself close to the family room with the couch and TV and peered around the corner for my parents. I expected them to jump out any time and say, "Ha! I knew you would try to sneak back home!" and ground me from video games from the rest of my life.

Squeezing my eyes closed like always when I wanted to defend against something even though it doesn't do shit, I waited for something to happen when I peeked around the wall leading to the family room. Feeling and hearing nothing, I opened my eyes to...an empty room. Sighing loudly and then quickly covering my mouth, I cursed in my mind my inability to stay focused in situation such as these. Taking slow almost none steps towards my room on the other side of the family room, UP the stairs and at the end of the hallway, I scanned my surroundings for anyone who might be peeping on me. Finding no one, I quickened. I was never the one that could be patient. Turning left at the end of the family room, though, I was met with my sister. My older one, I mean. Sitting on the stairs and smirking, I just stood there wondering what she would do with me. Would she blackmail me? Would she tell my parents on me? Would she do-

"Heh." is all she said. Still sitting there looking smug with her silky long hair dyed red-blue, she proceeded to yawn and stretch her arms above her as if to mock me and say, "You can't pass me and I can stay here forever!" Grumbling loudly enough for her to hear but not loud enough for my (hopefully) sleeping parents to hear, she smirked at me and stood up, leaning on the wall to her right with her right hand whilst putting her left arm bent at her waist.

Oh god. Not that pose. Though I liked it…*smack*

Smacking myself mentally I stood there stiff as the battle went on as to who broke down or left first; me or her. Standing there for many minutes, we stared each other in the eyes as we took in the other person. Finally succumbing to my desire to sleep, I slouched and feebly asked her, "May I PLEASE pass?" to which she replied, "Sure kiddo" with a slight smile. Going back upstairs to her room, I then proceeded to tiptoe up the stairs and into the bathroom, where I relieved myself of the things that had been in my body since the end of school. Knowing my parents won't wake up to this, I flushed the toilet and washed my hands at the sink outside. Then walking into my bathroom, I settled into my bed and turned off the lamp light, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

…

I woke up in a colosseum. Not knowing where I was, I sat up and looked in front of me. Surrounding me were people of all sizes looking at something in front of and above them. Following their gaze, I widened my eyes at the colossal being floating in the air in front of me. With its red and gold-trimmed cloak and the place where the head would be being just a black space, I panicked. The being then apparently spoke some words because the people around me began panicking. Transforming into other people in a rush of light, they hurriedly ran and left the ring, trampling over other people, and running away from the being that had now disappeared from the colosseum. Closing my eyes, I opened them to a ceiling, and confused, I sat up. With the rush of memories coming back, I remembered I was in my bed. Taking a long sigh, I laid back down onto the bed and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand.

3:34AM. I still had a long sleep to go before I woke up to school-

Oh right. Tomorrow was the weekend.

 _AN: I assumed he doesn't have school on saturdays and sundays? Correct me if I'm wrong please._

Wait, what did I dream of again?

…

…

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't retrieve the information about my dream. Shrugging one last time to release the tension in my shoulders, I eased back into the soft bed and went back to sleep almost instantly, this time with no dreams plaguing me.

…

I squinted open my eyes to the sun beaming through my window. Stretching and sitting up as per usual procedure, I looked at my clock and saw that it was only 8:00. Damn light shining into your room this early in the fall. I wish it was winter when the sun rose early and set early and when I could get a peaceful sleep without getting disturbed by the damn SUN. Sighing impatiently, I jumped back into my bed and hurriedly covered myself with the bed cover, as if to escape the glare of the poisonous sun, which it was to me at this time in the weekend. Weekends were usually my time to recuperate after a week of work; I smiled under the covers feeling lucky that I even had weekends.

I couldn't go back to sleep though. Squirming and trying to get comfortable under the covers still trying to escape the harsh glare of the sun, I stayed like that for who knows how long. Eventually, though, I felt like i couldn't sleep anymore and rose up out of the bed, squinting again at the rays of sun streaming through the cracks in my curtain after hours (I think) of hiding under the covers. Another glance at the clock on my nightstand showed that it was now only 9:12AM. Grumbling and getting out of my bed because of the lack of sleep, I trudged downstairs. Walking into the dining room that was adjacent to the family room, I walked to the table only to be met by four stares from my family members.

Not knowing what the staring was about and trying to ignore it, I walked to the cabinet and got out our case of oatmeal. Pouring some out into a flat-ish bowl, I then added some hot water from the hot water boiler on the counter and stirred the mixture. About to add some toppings from the fridge, I finally couldn't stand the staring and whirled around to them.

"Okay, what's wrong, guys!?" I said to them, like a crazed maniac wanting some answers. Which was basically me wanting some answers. Waiting for their response, I took a seat at the rectangular table in the middle of the room and stared at each of them in turn, wanting some answers. My mom and dad, in particular, were looking extremely neutral, which was odd for them and spelled trouble for me. My younger sister with her long ponytail looked innocent as always. She was too young for these things.

My older sister, on the other hand, was smirking at me. Remembering the incident the night before with her at the stairs, I cursed myself for not making her shut up and not tell my parents. Knowing what this was about now, I sat there in awkward silence eating my plain oatmeal, waiting for my parents or my older sister to speak up about the "incident" the night before about me getting home late.

After tense moments of silence and clinking of my spoon on the ceramic bowl, my mother finally spoke up to ease the tension, or maybe add more, I couldn't tell.

"So, Satoni…" my mother started. Oh god. This "So" at the beginning usually meant assumptions. And assumptions usually didn't end well for anyone in the family. I could see my dad tense up too at the word "So" at the beginning of the sentence. As we both visibly shook, my mother continued.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" she said, beaming at me with that sickly happy smile of hers.

My dad and I in sync both let out a sigh of relief, with me later groaning at her giving that embarrassing piece of information out for the whole family. I could feel my older sis's eyes boring into me with joy and amusement at my dodging of a very big bullet. Fine. I could trust her now. BUT not fully. I still don't trust her a little bit for the things she did earlier in my life, like telling my parents about me on something I didn't do, or exaggerating stories that actually happened. Since then, I felt that I had to make sure to exercise caution around her, or else she might double-cross me again.

Knowing that the conversation was now over and wanting to get away before the conversation proceeded any further about my personal life, I stuffed the rest of the oatmeal into my mouth and putting the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher, before quickly trudging back to my room and closing the door. After giving out another sigh of relief at my great escape of the table, I settled into my chair and after making sure that no one was coming to spy on me, opened my abnormally large second drawer on the left side of my desk. Looking at the shiny black box and the game cartridge case on top of it, I remembered the great times yesterday and let a slight smile play out on my lips as I thought of Tazumi. Our relationship really deepened in one day, it's amazing that our life played out so perfectly like yesterday.

Carefully taking the box and the case out as not to scratch the edges, I nimbly extracted the flaps from the box. Opening the box, I saw a blue-black beautiful headgear inside, complete with lights and everything. Smiling at it, I took it out with my hands, holding it and feeling the weight, before putting it on my head. Seeing as how it fit almost perfectly, I smiled and took it off. Taking the manual out, I looked at the instructions…

Step 1. Plug the «Nervegear» into a wall outlet.

Okay, that was easy. Looking into the box and finding a pure black cord reaching several meters, I plugged the «Nervegear» into the wall outlet behind my desk and looked back to the manual.

Step 2. Turn the «Nervegear» on by pressing the red button on the side.

No shit. Looking to the right-ear side of the «Nervegear», I spotted a red button that said "ON/OFF" and pressed it. The device hummed to life and the lights on the face of the «Nervegear» started flashing.

Step 3. Attach the USB cable provided into your computer, and connect it to a wireless internet.

Taking out the "again" pitch black cord with USB connectors on both ends, I plugged one end to the «Nervegear» and plugged the other into the laptop that was currently residing on the desk. Opening the laptop, I started booting it up. After a few tense minutes and a login screen, I connected the laptop to the internet. After a soft *beep* resided from the «Nervegear» showing that it was now connected to the internet, I looked back to the manual and continued the lengthy set-up procedure

Step 4. Insert cartridge, press the green button next to the red button, and wait for the game content to download. Progress will be displayed on computer.

Walking back to the desk, I opened the game cartridge and took out the DS-shaped cartridge. Pressing the button on the «Nervegear», a slot opened up and I inserted the cartridge inside, before closing it. After that, I pressed the button and looked at my computer.

"Downloading Sword Art Online. Progress: 0.0% Game Size: 876 GB"

876 gigabytes!? That's gigantic. Seeing as how my house gets 30mb/s and that I will be the only one using the internet, it is expected to take…

Opening a calculator, I did the math and the time turned out to be...8 and 1/9 hours. Well, this is gonna take a while. Leaving the «Nervegear» on my bed and my computer next to it, open but on minimal brightness as to conserve battery, I strode out of my room, closing the door behind me. Walking back downstairs and looking at my phone, I saw that it was now 10:32. Seeing that I still had time for lunch, I walked to the garage, pulled open the door, and walked in. Settling on my bike which was literally the only vehicle in the garage since it was mainly used for storage purposes, I opened the garage door with a press of the button next to the door on the wall. Biking out, I set out for the neighborhood diner a few miles away.

Pedaling at almost full speed down the street with the sky clear and the temperature warm, I savored the warmness, knowing that it would disappear by November. I wish that I could stay at home for Christmas this year, though, instead of travelling to other places. I heard that it snows really softly here and it must be great to experience the snow with the shining Christmas lights and the fun and the music and…

*smack*

As I was daydreaming I had hit a wall, slowly thankfully. Recoiling at the slight pain, I felt dazed for a second on the ground before getting my bike and continuing on. Again, my habit of daydreaming and not focusing at the right time was bad. I sighed and continued on, seeing that there were still quite a few blocks to go before I got to the home-style American diner that served burgers, fries, and stuff.

Pulling up to the US-styled diner with it's cursive sign (In English of course) and its wide open windows and bar-style seating, I got off of my bike and locked it to a railing. Walking towards the door, I threw it open and waited to be seated. A waitress soon got to me and I was guided towards one of the seats on the "bar".

Sitting down at the swivel chair and twirling around on it a few times like a little kid much to the dissent of other people around me, I then picked up the menu and started scanning through for something to eat. Of course, all the food here was Americanized or purely American, but it didn't hurt to try some new food, right?...even though I have eaten almost everything on the menu, but still, I happen to like American food a lot. It's nice, tasty, and best of all, greasy and fatty. Yum.

Flipping the pages forward and back on the laminated menu whilst enjoying the rich "French Roast" coffee I ordered from the waitress, I tried to decide on an item. Right now I was stuck on like two or three items, either the delicious cheesy panini or the cheeseburger. Or maybe the rice plate with steak and mushrooms and onions. It was a tough decision.

Closing my eyes and spinning my hand in a circle while feeling the stares of the people around me, I jabbed my finger down on a random place on the menu. Then feeling confident and tracing the distance from my hand to the closest of the three menu items, I decided on the cheeseburger, the piece of food with two buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a "patty" which is a lump of flattened beef. So simple yet so delicious. Calling the waitress over with a wave of my hand, I ordered my cheeseburger by saying it in English, which sounded weird considering my accent. But I didn't care, it just sounded cooler compared to other words in Japanese. I heard that it was a combination of two English words too, but I'm not sure. I'll check it out once I get back home.

Tapping my fingers on the table again in my usual impatient repetitive manner, I looked around me in an ADHD-like state, noticing everything around me and stopping to stare at a few things, which made me look crazy or not crazy, I can't tell. Scanning the tables for interesting people, I moved my eyes over the heads that peeked over the booths near the window.

Normal guy and girl…

Girl alone…

Old guy with his (probably) daughter…

Guy with friends…

Stopping my eyes at one particular head that peeked over the booth back, I noticed the ivory-colored hair and the dual pigtails that popped out of the sides of her head. Standing up to get a better look, I pretended to go towards the window that was on the other side of the building and snuck a glance at her which seemed obvious.

What I saw instead was a face that wasn't Tazumi but of someone else. Mentally trying to stop the sweat that was pooling on my forehead and trying to remind myself that it was just a false alarm, I turned around suddenly, making a U-turn at the next table in the middle of the room, before heading back to my seat at the bar, all the while whistling uncomfortably like a little kid. Getting back to my seat, I spun it again and sat down on it, turning it back to face the counter while I daydreamed waiting for my food to come.

Where was Tazumi today? Was she in trouble? Was she grounded at home? Worse, was she kicked out of her home? No...that's not possible. That won't happen to her. Or will it happen to her?

Shivering noticeably now because of my anxiety, I tried to calm myself down by thinking about other thoughts. Sword Art Online. Friends. Video games. After a few minutes I was able to calm myself down to the point that I was able to push those thoughts to the back of my brain and mentally reminded myself to go and check on her later. I luckily still had her address on my phone because of the "Recent" feature on the map app on my phone, so I could go and see how she was going.

Hearing a *clink* that jolted me out of my thoughts, a rich aroma assaulted my nose as the smell of the cheeseburger in front of me wafted into my nose. Focusing now on the cheeseburger and the side of fries next to it as well as the traditional squish-push ketchup bottle next to it, I picked up the burger with my two hands and pushed it into my mouth, hoping that it wasn't too big for me to eat.

Feeling the bottom part of the burger brush past my chin, I sighed inside and pulled the burger out of my mouth. Staring at it intently, I proceeded to try and squish the front so that it would fit into my mouth. After many squishes and much pressure on my fingers, the burger was about half of its original thickness and I again put it into my mouth, this time the whole bit making it into my mouth instead of the original half. Enjoying the rich meat and the baked bun as well as the juicy tomato and the crisp piece of lettuce, I took my time chewing the bite before taking another one. This time, though, I couldn't control my speed of eating, and before I knew it, the last bite of the burger was in my mouth as well as the last french fry disappearing into my stomach. Patting my belly like a fat old man who just ate a giant meal, I let out my breath and sank into the shallow chair that I had been residing in for the last ten minutes. Leaving the bills for the meal which happened to be not that expensive, I trudged out the door and back to my bike, which was still locked up at the railing.

Unlocking it with a key I always kept in my pocket, I put the locking mechanism back into my deep pockets and hopped onto the bike, stopping first to find out the directions to Tazumi's house.

1.2 miles.

Starting to pedal in the direction of her house after putting the phone into my jean pocket with earphones leading out into my ears so that I could hear the directions, I again for the second or third that day started daydreaming, the loop of pedaling and stopping hardwired on my brain as I thought of other things, like how to talk to Tazumi once I got to her house. Sighing after a while when I found out that my brain was empty in this subject, I concentrated back on biking and put my brain on idle. Before I knew it, after a few turns and some sloping roads, I arrived at Tazumi's house, a modest two-story building in the suburbs of Anohakitsu.

 _AN: Fake city, doesn't really exist. Or does it?_

Taking slow steps up to the front door of her house whilst trying to avoid tripping on the brick steps, I rang her doorbell. An unfamiliar female voice yelling, "Coming!" greeted me and within moments the door was flung open for me to see an older girl with purple-dyed hair pulled back into a ponytail. Beaming at the sight of me like she knew about yesterday, which she probably did seeing that she was most likely Tazumi's older sister, she gave the motion to come in. Sliding off my comfy sneakers outside the door and instead slipping on some indoor slippers, I heard Tazumi's sister close the door behind me before locking it with a comment to no one in particular of, "It always pays to lock your door."

Ushering me upstairs with a wave of her hand, she let me ascend the stairs first before coming up behind me like an escort, which she probably was seeing the state of me coming as a guest. With the little time we had together ascending the stairs, we exchanged numerous words like, "Yeah", "Okay", "Hi", and stuff like that. Once at the top of the stairs, I immediately headed towards the room with the colorful sign on the door saying "Tazumi's Room" with a smaller sign under it saying, "Knock before coming in". Proceeding to rap my knuckles on the door softly three times, I heard a body inside slide off a bed, I presume with a creak of the bedframe and go to the door.

The door was then thrown open wildly and in my view came Tazumi with her hair all messed up and with a mad look on her face. About to yell at whoever came in, it seems, her face brightened up when she saw me. Pulling my hand inside like always, she shut the door after saying, "Give us some private time, please" to whoever was outside in a loud voice. Sitting on the bed, she sighed and gave me a gesture that said, "Sit wherever." Choosing to sit on the bed next to her to which she stiffened a little before relaxing again, I stayed silent, waiting for her to talk to me about...whatever.

With a sigh, she flopped backwards onto her bed, still in her pink-purple pajamas, before starting to talk in a low voice.

"I got grounded for the weekend because I was out later than 10pm…" she said to the ceiling.

Smiling warmly at her, I scooted backwards to my whole body was sitting on the bed before putting my right hand on her left shoulder, to which she smiled before relaxing again as if to say, "You talk". Breathing in a deep breath, I prepared to say my story which thankfully had a happier ending than hers.

Stopping every few seconds to catch my breath, I explained my happy ending story with my parents loving that I now had a girlfriend to which she only replied, "We're a couple now?" to which I hurriedly replied, "Err...yeah." She laughed loudly after that and I smiled, laying down on the bed next to Tazumi to enjoy my time with her. Looking at each other, we both smiled before reaching out our arms and hugging each other.

Reminding her that the game started tomorrow to which she replied, "I'll make sure to see you in-game Satoni", I smiled and tried to cherish my time with her.

After brief moments of hugging, chatting and lots of saying "I love you" from both of us, we broke apart and I prepared to leave, agreeing that she would pretend that she was still mad about her grounding and meet me in-game. With a smirk and a little "hah", we gave our goodbyes and I left her room.

Walking past her sister and down the stairs, I looked towards where the family room probably was and said, "Goodbye Mr. And Ms. Kinoheya" to where I as usual received no response. Putting on my shoes, opening the front door and stepping out with one last look at the general direction Tazumi's room was at, I closed the door behind me and got back on my bike, pedaling home the happiest that I have been in a long time (minus yesterday).

Tomorrow is certainly gonna be a nice day, isn't it?

 _AN: Well this turned out to be much longer than I thought it would be. Oh well. Seeing as how the game is supposed to start Sunday and it is already Saturday, expect the "prologue" to complete in the next one or two chapters._


End file.
